Intermec EasyCoder 4100 User manual

User’s
Manual
4100 Bar Code Label Printer
P/N 057713-005

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4100 Bar Code Label Printer User's Manual
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Code 39 18 pt
Intermec® Corporation
6001 36th Avenue West
P.O. Box 4280
Everett, WA 98203-9280
U.S. technical and service support: 1-800-755-5505
U.S. media supplies ordering information: 1-800-227-9947
Canadian technical and service support: 1-800-688-7043
Canadian media supplies ordering information: 1-800-268-6936
Outside U.S. and Canada: Contact your local Intermec service supplier.
The information contained herein is proprietary and is provided solely for the purpose of allowing
customers to operate and/or service Intermec manufactured equipment and is not to be released,
reproduced, or used for any other purpose without written permission of Intermec.
Information and specifications in this manual are subject to change without notice.
©1995 by Intermec Corporation
All Rights Reserved
The word Intermec, the Intermec logo, Duratran, and CrossBar are trademarks of Intermec Corporation.
The name Centronics is wholy owned by GENICOM Corporation.
IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation.
Throughout this manual, trademarked names may be used. Rather than put a trademark (TM) symbol in
every occurrence of a trademarked name, we state that we are using the names only in an editorial
fashion, and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringement.

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Contributors
Author Lori Austin
Mia Hayashida
Editor Craig Thompson
Technical Illustrators John Bickley
Karen Petruzzi
Technical Reviewers Scott Bale
Dzung Dang
Jim Davison
Terry Ho
Jaye Jarchow
Ed Millet
Lisa Morin
Mark Rasmussen

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Manual Change Record
This page records the changes to this manual. The manual was originally released as version 001.
Version Date Description of Change
B 12/92 Added an addendum describing new features of ribbon save and the
cutter.
001 2/93 Incorporated addendum and added the cut option. Added a new label
that can be downloaded to the printer.
002 8/93 Chapter 7 was reformatted to make it easier to use. Chapter 8 was made
to be a universal printer reference guide. Commands that are not
compatible with the 4100 printer are noted. Small changes were made to
the appendix.
003 10/93 Firmware version 2.3 addendum added to the manual. The changes were
made to the communications protocols and the configuration commands
such as end-of-print skip distance and the label rest point.
004 10/94 Manual updated to reflect the current style guide. A new file called
4100u-fr.pm4 was added. It contains all of the front matter that was
previously included in Chapter 1. What used to be Chapter 2 is now
Chapter 1, and so forth. There is no longer a Chapter 8. Firmware
version 2.4 information added to the manual. The new information
includes:
Image before print command
HIBC Code 128
New Code 128 selection to ignore brackets and spaces
Label rest location range expanded to +/-30
Top of form adjust range expanded to -10 to 4000
Reimage only changed fields
Test and Service DIP switch settable functions
Different sensitivity number for DT and TTR
005 6/95 Page numbers added to the printer command tables in Chapter 7 and
several command descriptions corrected. New cable diagrams added to
Chapter 2.

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Contents
Contents
Before You Begin xix
Warranty Information xix
Safety Summary xix
Warnings and Cautions xx
About This Manual xxi
Customer Advisory xxiii
Getting Started
Introduction to the 4100 Printer 1-3
Printing Capabilities 1-3
Printer Components 1-4
Printer Component Descriptions (Front View) 1-5
Printer Component Descriptions (Front Interior) 1-7
Printer Component Descriptions (Rear View) 1-9
Printer Component Descriptions (Mechanism Detail) 1-11
Printer Options 1-12
Ribbon Save 1-12
Cutter 1-12
Unpacking the 4100 1-13
Checking the Order for Completeness 1-13
Reporting Damage or Defects 1-13
Installing the Front Panel Cover 1-14
Preparing the Printer for Installation 1-14
Plugging in the Printer 1-14
Checking the DIP Switch Settings 1-15
Opening the Printer 1-15
Loading Media 1-15
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If You Have Difficulty Feeding the Media 1-17
Printing Configuration Test Labels 1-18
What the Configuration Test Labels Tell You 1-18
Installing the Printer
About Printer Installation 2-3
Preparing for Installation 2-3
Situating the Printer 2-4
Connecting the Printer to the Host 2-4
Default (Point-to-Point) Installation 2-4
About Network Installations 2-5
Modem Installation Procedure 2-7
Configuring the Serial Port 2-8
Serial Port Settings 2-8
DIP Switch Settings 2-9
Connecting the Printer to a Network 2-10
Host Requirements 2-10
Communication Boundaries 2-10
Communication Protocols 2-10
Intermec “Standard” Protocol 2-11
Polling Mode D Protocol 2-12
Multi-Drop Protocol 2-12
XON/XOFF Protocol (Software and Hardware / Flow Control) 2-12
Ready/Busy Protocol 2-13
User-Defined Protocol 2-13
Communication Interfaces 2-14
RS-232C Serial Interface 2-15
RS-485 Serial Interface 2-16
RS-422 Serial Interface 2-17
Printer Serial Port 2-17
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Contents
Choosing the Correct Cable 2-17
Intermec Cables 2-18
Cable Schematics 2-18
RS-485 (Multi-Drop) Cables 2-20
Cabling Considerations in Noisy Electrical Environments 2-20
Operating the Printer
About Printer Operation 3-3
Opening and Closing the Printer 3-3
Opening the Printer 3-4
Closing the Printer 3-4
Using the Front Control Panel 3-4
Loading Media Into the Printer 3-5
Straight-Through Printing 3-6
Self-Strip Printing 3-8
Repositioning the Tear-Off Plate Before Printing 3-8
Loading the Media 3-8
Batch Take-Up Printing 3-10
Installing the Rewind Adapter Before Printing 3-10
Loading the Media 3-11
Fanfold Printing 3-12
Adjusting the Label Gap Sensor 3-13
Adjusting the Label Gap Sensor for Die Cut Media 3-14
Adjusting the Label Gap Sensor for Tag Stock 3-14
Setting Media Sensitivity 3-14
Setting the Approximate Sensitivity Rating for Your Media 3-15
Fine-Tuning the Sensitivity Rating 3-15
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4
5
4
Loading the Thermal Transfer Ribbon 3-17
Image Band Setting 3-18
How the Image Bands Command works 3-18
Optimizing the Number of Image Bands 3-18
Modified Field Reimaging 3-19
Printing Labels 3-20
Routine Maintenance
About Printer Maintenance 4-3
Safety Precautions 4-3
Inspecting the Printer 4-4
Components You Should Maintain 4-5
Lubrication 4-6
Cleaning the Printer 4-6
Cleaning the Drive Roller 4-6
Cleaning the Media Path 4-7
Cleaning the Printer Case 4-7
Cleaning the Printhead 4-8
Cleaning the Cutter Blades 4-9
Adjusting the Printhead Support 4-10
Adjusting the Printhead Alignment 4-11
Replacing the Cutter Blade 4-13
Replacing the Fuse 4-17

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Contents
Troubleshooting
About Troubleshooting 5-3
Troubleshooting Checklist 5-3
Printer Operation Problems 5-4
Print Quality Problems 5-5
Communication Problems 5-6
Error Handling 5-6
Syntax Errors 5-6
Parameter Errors 5-6
Image Overrun Errors 5-7
Invalid Numeric Character Errors 5-7
Insufficient Storage RAM Errors 5-7
Error Codes 5-8
Using Test and Service Mode 5-10
Printing Test Labels 5-12
Using Data Line Print 5-12
Performing Cloning 5-13
Performing Selective Transfer 5-14
Using Memory Reset 5-15
Changing Configuration Commands in Test and Service Mode 5-16
Setting the Number of Dot Increments 5-17
Adjusting the Label Rest Point 5-18
Using 86XX Emulation Mode 5-19
Forms Adjust 5-21
Setting the X Forms Adjust 5-22
Setting the Y Forms Adjust 5-23
Using Test and Service Mode Commands 5-24
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Designing Labels and Using Commands
Introduction to Label Design 6-3
Using Label Formats 6-3
Communicating With the Printer 6-6
Using Intermec Label Design Software 6-6
Using the Printer Command Set 6-6
Downloading Printer Commands Using DOS 6-6
Using a Text Editor or Word Processor to Create Your Label 6-7
Downloading Printer Commands Using PC Communications
Programs or Host Terminals 6-8
Switching Between Print Mode and Program Mode 6-9
Creating Label Design Components 6-9
Different Kinds of Fields 6-10
About Bar Code Symbologies 6-10
Character Fields and Fonts 6-14
User-Defined Fonts 6-15
Downloading Fonts 6-16
Lines and Boxes 6-17
Graphics 6-18
One Bit Per Byte 6-18
Downloading One Bit Per Byte Graphics 6-19
Diamond Graphic 6-20
Six Bits Per Byte 6-20
Editing Labels and Working With Fields 6-22
Editing Labels 6-22
Deleting Fields 6-23
Scaling Fields 6-23
Magnifying Fonts and Character Fields 6-23
Magnifying Bar Code Fields 6-24
Positioning Fields 6-24
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